Paige Miles, Editorial Page Editor
The Behrend Beacon
pnhlnheil weekly h\ the s nitlenl\ of I'eiin Sitin’ i'.rie. Hie Hclurinl ( n/lt
News Editor
Erin McCarty
Assistant Sports Editor fß&Jjb, ,
Lauren Packer
Assistant News Editor
Jen Henderson
Sports Editor
Scott Soltis
Editorial Page Editor
Paige Miles geaCOll
Features Editor
Karl Benacci
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ISSN 1071-9288.
I think Valentine’s Day is stupid
Roses are red,
Violets are blue.
If you like Valentine’s Day
I feel sorry for you.
Alihh. yes. Valentine’s Day. Another
holiday made to increase the profits of
greeting card manufacturer’s and candy
companies the world over. Well, you
know what? Valentine’s Day is stupid!
Yes. I am right. I realize some of the
readers disagree, and I know some prob
ably agree. However, I wjll continue
writing as if the reader has no preference
between the two extremes.
Many V-Day supporters attest the
happy holiday is to celebrate love and
being with that ‘special someone’ in his
or her life. Hogwash, I say. If one was
truly in love everyday would be
Valentine's Day, and one wouldn’t need
to follow a special holiday to express
devotion. After all, If a person is
soooooooo in love, shouldn’t he or she
treat everyday the same as Valentine’s
Day?
I’ve noticed some chumps use
Valentine’s Day as a 24-hour bragging
Pondering the word ‘senior,’ part one
I was just sitting in my parent’s parlor, looking at baby
photos of myself and my brother. We both had these huge
gummy smiles and fat cheeks, his hair a dark smudge on
top of his round head, mine a blonde, feathery mass that
grew heavier with every passing photo. My mother said
that when he was bom, my little chubby hands would pat
his head and I would say “nice Timmy.”
We grew up together, Tim and I. Every year
we rode the Sky Ride together at Waldameer
during our school picnics. One time we took
all of my little sister's glow in the dark build
ing blocks, turned all the lights out in our refin
ished basement, and threw them around so it me.
looked like we had scattered stars on the blue By July, there will be no more
carpeting. We did stupid stuff like tape record s T, luxury of talking to my brother on AIM
ourselves goofing off in our house and then sNRHI:- and then walking down the
playing it back, laughing hysterically. Undressed from the neck UD hallway to room to
So, what does this have to do with my Wpinrinrf check out his mean
being a senior? I’m not sure yet. WClllOOri hermit crab and his huge
There’s a lot to be said fora lifelong part- slug (snail, whatever Tim, I
nership with a sibling, and the one I have with : don’t know what it is!) One time,
Tim is definitely the strongest. Actually, you might know when I knew his bedroom door was shut, I sent him
him. He still has a dark smudge for hair on top of his an IM that said “knock, knock” and then I ran down
round head, and he is the lucky one who will take up my the hallway and banged on his door really hard. I
I read an article in the newspaper, “The ‘misunderestimated’ Bush”
by Derek Bledsoe. In this article, Bledsoe continued to make fun of
many things President George Bush has said. Needless to say, he has
made mistakes while speaking, many of them humorous, but is that
any way to judge the man? How would you do any better if making a
speech in front of the entire United States? I’m sure the majority of
the people in this country would most likely scramble a few words,
talk really fast, or never make eye contact. But would that make some
one incapable of doing a job? Absolutely not!
Bledsoe stated, “It scares me just a little bit that Bush is tryijig to
lead us in what could be the next big American war.” What scares you
exactly? The fact that he makes a few mistakes while speaking in
front of a crowd? And is he really “trying” to lead us into this war, or
does he have a choice at all? I don’t think he would have put us in this
situation if he didn’t have to. He’s the president of the United States.
If one thinks what Clinton did was a scandal, could you imagine how
much criticism Bush would get if he was, in reality, entering us into
this war just for the hell of it, putting the entire country in jeopardy?!
Editor-in-Chief
Kevin Fallon
Managing Editors
Rebecca Weindorf
Robert Wynne
Professional Publication Mgr.
Dave Richards
Advisor
Cathy Roan
The Beacon encourages
letters to the editor. Letters
should include the address,
phone number, semester
standing, and major of the
writer. Writers can mail letters
to behrcoll2@aol.com. Letters
must be received no later than
5 p.m. Monday for inclusion in
period. I remember this one guy from
Cathedral Prep waited outside my high
school and brought his girlfriend flow
ers, and the chick walked around with a
huge grin like she was the Queen of Ec
uador. The girl probably thought, all
right. Now my friends can see how cool
lam. After all, my boyfriend brought me The touching story of the girl from my
flowers and is probably going to take high school brings me to my next
me out for dinner. P°i nt - Valentine’s Day merely un-
However, the only reason the guy m j leashes agonizing memories of
was going out of his way to be ro- happy times with ex’s, which fur
mantic was so he could increase his thes-torments oneself. I’ve seen it
chances of a little ‘push and over and over again. I’ll base my
shove,’ if you know what I argument on the girl who
mean. Sadly, the two broke found out her boyfriend
up after his girlfriend was cheating on her.
found out he partook in The Valentine’s
‘extracurricular’activi- Oh, yOU didn’t knOW? Day my senior
ties with two Karl Benacci y ear in hi s h
McDowell girls. I ■ school the young
guess it goes to show lady had to cel
love is fading, and there is no Queen of ebrate Valentine’s Day alone. Wouldn’t
Ecuador, either. that suck? I bet the poor girl thought
Many males use Valentine’s Day to
trick girls into doing filthy, naughty, ob
scene, disastrous, foolish, regretful, evil
(and I almost forgot hilarious) things.
Advertising Manager
Christine Kleck
Calendar Page Editor
Erinn Hansen
A&E Editor
Daniel Stasiewski
Humor Page Editor
Mike Butala
Associate Editor
Courtney Straub
Distribution Manager
Scott Soltis
that week's issue
long and glorious legacy at Behrend once I leave in
the spring (right, Tim?)
Anyway, this partnership. Here is one example:
He was my interpreter when I was very young, right
before kindergarten, I was merely a sloppy speaker
and, consequently, no one could understand what the
hell I was saying. So he would follow me around,
directing my mother when I wanted something
to drink or if I asked to go outside to play. He
proudly retold my stories to relatives when they
would get puzzled looks on their faces. Yeah.
Guess who turned out to be the English major:
Friday, February 7, 2003
Where’s my proof? Look at all the
wretched lingerie that sits on the clear
ance shelves during the third week of
February at Spencer’s Gift’s in the
Millcreek Mall. Anyone who purchases
this stuff needs to save their money to
buy time with a psychiatrist.
about all the good memories (including
the Valentine’s Day previous, when
prince player brought her flowers) she
had with the guy who played her like a
Believe it or not, he is trying to do what is best for the citizens of this country, and
people of other countries around the world.
Referring once again to how Bush speaks, this may surprise some people, but no
one is perfect. Even Bledsoe’s story at one point stated, “...the government decides
they are going to suspend the popular vote...” Does that make any sense? No, it
doesn’t. But would that make you think that whoever made this mistake is inca
pable of doing a job?
Every president is made fun of because of something. President Bush is tor
mented because of how he speaks. Do I fear that something awful is going to occur
because of that? Of course not. He tries to make his point, and at times, he can’t
express himself that clearly. It doesn’t mean the man is incompetent. Maybe it just
means that he’s not that great at public speaking, which in case you didn’t know, is
among one of the top fears of people today.
Katie Sweeney
Aerospace Engineering, 02
metal harmonica. All because of a stu
pid holiday!
Now, I know what many of my read
ers are thinking. Some believe I’m bit
ter! However, I have never had a girl
friend during Valentine’s Day. I know
everyone must be shocked by this (sar
casm, for those who didn’t notice ©),
but it’s true. I have nothing to be scorn
ful about concerning my personal bad
luck on Valentine’s Day (other than slid
ing off the road and hitting a damn tree).
Yes, in 1998 I spent my Valeptjne’s Pay
in the hospital because [ wrecked my car
into a tree the previous night—Friday
February 13 lh . But hey, some good came
out of it. A girl called me on the phone
and was so afraid I was going to die that
she cried. And no! It wasn’t my mother.
It was a chick who went to Girard high
school. True, my luck sucks, but she was
a cute girl, and I digress.
So now you know why I think
Valentine’s Day is stupid. However, This
year 1 will be celebrating the holiday with
fervor. Surprised? I’m going to don some
Army fatigues and will be hunting Cu
pid with a compound bow and a fistful
heard him yell and almost fall off his chair in surprise
That was really funny.
In May, I will have my big fat B.A. and in July, I’ll
have a gold band on my left finger, a new last name,
and a new address in our neighboring state of New York.
New me. I’ll have a new partnership with my future
husband. It’s kind of scary to look at those old photos,
two decades old, and still remember the Christmas
mornings when Barbies and Transformers were wait
ing for us under the tree, but that’s the type of thing that
happens when you start to think about a new life.
I’m a firm believer in that the bigger transition is into
the real world, not college; all you freshmen have it
real easy right now. So in beginning my last semester
at the Beacon, at Behrend, in Erie, geez, even in Penn
sylvania, I’m raising my first editorial in a salute to a
lifelong friend, confidante, personal slave (just kidding,
just kidding), and my only brother. Thanks.
Weindorf’s column
appears every three weeks.
The Behrend Beacon
of arrows. Below is a resplendent rendi
tion of the slaying including the arrow I
will use to pierce the whimsical
creature’s heart. Remember Cupid,
Benacci never misses his target. Never.
Benacci’s column
appears every three weeks.
HEARTLESS HAL
Send all
thoughts,
complaints,
comments,
praises,
protests,
objections,
critiques,
and
Letters
to the
Editor
to
Behrcoll2
@aol.com
Include your
name, major,
and semester
standing.
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